Road tolling systems that employ a network of geographically distributed toll stations with locally bounded communication zones to localize vehicles to the location of the tolling station via short-range communication with their on-board units (OBUs) are distinguished by their high reliability and precise localization. However, the quantity of data that can be exchanged via these short-range communications is sharply limited by the limited range thereof and the speed of the vehicles. In general, only a brief data message is possible, which must contain the device code of the onboard unit to identify it within the road tolling system before the vehicle again leaves the communication zone of a tolling station.
High-volume mobile data services are currently used over 2G, 3G or 4G mobile communication networks (e.g., GPRS, UMTS or LTE, etc.) with mobile terminals such as mobile telephones, PDAs, handheld PCs, tablets, etc., which are brought by the user in the vehicle or can be integrated into the vehicle or the onboard unit thereof. However, the localization precision of mobile terminals in these mobile communication networks is greatly limited for the purpose of location-specific data services, even if additional GPS receivers are installed, and also has the consequence of increased data traffic in the mobile communication network, with corresponding additional costs.